St Cadoc's Chapel, Cornwall

I love it when God sets us up! The day we visited the site of St Cadoc's Chapel in Cornwall, He gave us favour upon favour. Firstly we couldn't find the footpath signed to the site and pulled into the lane leading to St Cadoc's Farm to consult our map. Within a few minutes a farmer pulls alongside us, asking if we need help. We explain we are trying to find St Cadoc's holy well. The farmer has lived on the farm all his life and he's been searching for the site but hasn't yet found it. He proceeds to tell us where to find the remains of the chapel and the enclosure. He's s probably the most knowledgeable person about St Cadoc's Chapel alive today and he just 'happened' to pull in alongside us. Then he invites us to park in the farmyard, saving us a hike across the farm.

Crossing the farmyard we joined the public footpath which leads to the site of where St Cadoc's Chapel was. Presumably the holy well was somewhere nearby too. The path stops at the site, not going anywhere else, and it is recounted that this was a place of pilgrimage for centuries. We cross one field, over a farm gate into the overgrown woodland. After scrambling through nettles, ivy and broken branches we can see the remains of the walls and enclosure which the farmer directed us to. He explained that historians recently confirmed where the chapel was and which walls were part of the enclosure for animals and so we were saved much conjecture.

Scrambling through the scrub we make it into what is thought to be the remains of the medieval church. This would have been built over the original wooden one. Some stone walls are still visible but much of the structure was reclaimed by the local parish church in St Issey when it was hit by lightning and needed rebuilding. We did find one stone which was clearly cut by a mason into shape but much else was rubble.

So, we sit and ask God why in the world he's brought us to this hidden place so unexpectedly and with such favour from the farmer. Then it begins to get interesting.

As we pray and worship in song we are aware of a deep presence of God and that this is a very holy place. We are singing the scripture, 'I know that My redeemer lives and in the end He will stand upon the earth'. Job 19:25. At this point four angels come before us kneeling. It is overwhelming and I feel embarrassed that they kneel there. We don't interact with them.

I become aware I am seeing a vision and seem to be whizzing back through time down a light tunnel. When it stops I'm looking at a monk kneeling praying in front of an altar. I can smell lavender scent in the air yet none is present. On either side of the altar are two golden angels with their wings pointing upwards and facing each other. I ask God what He wants from us in this place and I hear Him reply that this is a portal in the Spirit realm of God. It is a portal of Grace and Mercy. I'm instructed to strike the ground prophetically with my stick whilst singing 'Spring Up O Well, in the name of Jesus'. Numbers 21:17. These are prophetic acts of faith, I do what I sense the Holy Spirit is asking of me. It doesn't matter whether I totally understand or not, it's about faith and obedience. After doing this I go into groaning intercession for a short time.

I continue to see the monk in my vision. He is now face down, prostrate abandoned in prayer, lying in the spiritual river of God, flowing from the throne of God.  In the natural I see him caring for people who come to him, putting a blanket around them for warmth, bathing their feet in his holy well which looks like a small pool. I can see a line of people steadily coming to him and most are mothers with sick children and he prays for them. It's clear he is a devout and holy man with a miracle working ministry of love. 

We linger in the place praying, worshipping, waiting. At one point we are very aware that our dog is looking fixated in one direction for minutes on end. We suspect she can see something in the spirit realm which we can't. I feel a nudge to take photos where she is looking. Seeing them later, there are clearly some unusual and unexplained things in those photos - circles of coloured light, mistiness in front of where the altar was, a thin pillar of light.  I'm not going to try to explain what these are, as I don't really know. I've heard theories but I'm sure it wasn't the effect of light on the camera lens but something supernatural of God, as they only appear in certain photos even though others were taken at the same time.  In a sense these things are not the real focus but Jesus is and that this site is still a 'thin place' where it's easy to pray and know that God is near. There's  something of the ancient which God is bringing forward into the present day through prayer and which He's releasing from these ancient sites once more across Cornwall. 

The chapel is a short way inland from the sea and Harlyn Bay. One headland overlooking the bay is called St Cadoc’s Point and we decided to visit suspecting it was used for prayer, being ‘on the edge of the world’.

It’s  just a short walk along the coast path from the Harlyn carpark and is a clear promontory which gives a full panoramic view in all directions. one way you look towards Trevone, the other across the golden sands of Harlyn Bah. In front of you is the vast expanse of sea just punctuated by Gull Island. We found it a beautiful place to sit and contemplate.

Initially we sat on a bench placed there but before long I had a vision of a monk sitting cross legged, praying right on the cliff edge, so that’s where we went to pray and worship. We were singing the scripture ‘The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea’. It was a very visual reminder as we looked out across the ocean.

Before long I became aware of spiritual activity around us and in particular an angel standing looking out to sea, holding a long hunting horn. As we continued praying I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, ‘Call in the reinforcements’ and sensed there were angels to be dispatched from Wales to assist us in Cornwall. The moment I released the words out loud I saw the angel lift the horn to his lips and blow several times, the sound waves rippling out across the ocean. 

I then became aware we were sitting within a tunnel of light which reached from heaven to earth and enveloped us, a portal. It was so peaceful and joyous we just wanted to linger, so we did. I encourage you to go too. It’s easily accessible if you’re able to walk and worth visiting.

You can read more at St Cadoc in the history section of this site, under Saints.